Media Contact

Janna Farley, jfarley@aclu.org

January 19, 2022

Today, South Dakota senators voted to advance Senate Bill 46, legislation that would ban transgender women and girls from competing on the sports teams that match their gender identity.

The ACLU of South Dakota opposes Senate Bill 46. By singling out transgender women and girls, Senate Bill 46 violates both the United States Constitution and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which protects all students – including those who are transgender – from discrimination based on sex.

“Senate Bill 46 is not about leveling the playing field for student athletes. It’s about erasing and excluding trans people from participation in all aspects of public life,” said Jett Jonelis, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “Trans students’ humanity, dignity, and ability to be full members of their school communities should never be up for debate like this. Senate Bill 46 is out of step with prevailing international and national norms of athletic competition. Inclusive teams that support all athletes and encourage participation should be the standard for all school sports.”

Legislation similar to Senate Bill 46 has been filed across the country in recent years and has been challenged in court. In 2020, a federal judge blocked Idaho’s law targeting transgender student athletes, recognizing that “it is not just the constitutional rights of transgender girls and women athletes at issue but … the constitutional rights of every girl and woman athlete in Idaho.” and concluded that the law was based on nothing more than discrimination against transgender people. In 2021, a federal court blocked West Virginia from enforcing a law that bans trans girls and women from participating in school sports. Legal challenges are underway against similar laws passed in other states, too.

Additionally, last year’s presidential executive order on preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation states that “children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.” Because of this order, if Senate Bill 46 is signed into law, South Dakota will face a U.S. government that is actively enforcing Title IX’s protections against discriminatory policies targeting transgender students.

 

About the ACLU of South Dakota

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of South Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes North Dakota and Wyoming. The team in South Dakota is supported by staff in those states.

The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people.  In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of South Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of South Dakota.

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